Kazakhstan Is More Than Steppe and Desert

The answer in 20 seconds

Steppe and desert are major parts of Kazakhstan, but the country also contains mountains, lakes, wetlands, rivers, forests and large cities.^C1

Why does the flat-steppe image dominate?

Kazakhstan is strongly associated with the Eurasian steppe, and large areas are genuinely arid or semi-arid. That association is not wrong — it is simply incomplete. A true feature becomes a stereotype when it is presented as the only feature, and Kazakhstan is too large and varied for any single landscape to describe it.

What is steppe, and how much of it is there?

Steppe is a treeless grassland biome that stretches across Central Asia. Large areas of northern and central Kazakhstan are genuinely steppe or semi-arid. The Saryarka region — the steppe and lakes of northern Kazakhstan — is a UNESCO World Heritage site recognised for its globally significant crane and waterbird habitats as well as its rare steppe ecosystems.^C2

The Aral Sea basin in the south-west, now largely dried up due to Soviet-era irrigation diversions, is arid and partly desertified. The Betpak-Dala desert covers a substantial central region. These are real and significant.

Mountains

The south-east of the country rises into the Tien Shan range. Khan Tengri, a peak on the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border, reaches over 6,900 metres and is one of the highest points in the region. The Zailiysky Alatau range rises directly behind the city of Almaty, making glaciers and alpine terrain visible from the urban centre. The Altai mountains extend into eastern Kazakhstan and provide the country’s most forested landscapes, including rivers running south into China.

The Western Tien-Shan, which crosses Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, is a separate UNESCO World Heritage site recognised for its biodiversity and mountainous ecosystems.^C2

Lakes and rivers

Lake Balkhash is one of the largest lakes in Asia and unique for having fresh water in its western half and salt water in its east. The Ili River flows from China, fills Balkhash, and passes through one of the country’s larger river delta systems. The Irtysh River crosses north-east Kazakhstan into Siberia. The Syr Darya crosses the south before entering the former Aral Sea basin.

The north contains numerous smaller lakes in the steppe depressions — these form the wetland network recognised in the Saryarka World Heritage designation.

Cities and population

Kazakhstan is a predominantly urban country. Almaty — the largest city — sits at the foot of the Zailiysky Alatau mountains, at roughly 800 to 1,700 metres elevation depending on the district. The capital Astana sits on the flat steppe of the north, but is characterised by large-scale modern architecture rather than a landscape of open grassland. Other cities include Shymkent in the south, Karaganda in the centre, and Aktau on the Caspian Sea.^C3

Why scale matters

Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country by area — roughly the size of Western Europe. A single landscape description cannot represent a territory of that scale. Climate and topography differ sharply across the country: northern plains with continental cold winters, western Caspian lowlands, central uplands, eastern Altai forests, south-eastern mountain chains with glaciers, and the dry south-west.

Better wording

Say “Kazakhstan includes vast steppe and desert regions”, not “Kazakhstan is only steppe and desert.” The first is accurate; the second turns one part of the country into the whole country.